Through the Gloom ____________________________________________________________________________ Sensing her feeling of utter misery, Praetus looked behind him to see Daimah plodding along, eyes downcast, with a disheartened frown that was quickly becoming a permanent feature on her once smiling face. He couldn’t quite blame her. It had been raining for days, and her dark hair now hung in damp ringlets around her fair face, unprotected by her soaking cloak. Even her horse looked depressingly forlorn. The young warrior sighed, beginning to feel the burden of his responsibility. She had gotten into this herself, though. He had given her the choice, as well as fair warning of what lay ahead -not only in Atlantis, but in the life she would lead should she be accepted by the Council. He had given her ample time to think it over, and it had been her decision to come with him, to leave behind the only home she knew for a land and a life unlike anything she had heard in any story. Still, he had promised Mehren that he would fetch his daughter, see her taught in the Arts, and -most importantly- take care of her. Already he felt that he was failing to achieve that. However, he could not stop the rain from falling, and the villages were dangerous in these parts. Yet there had to be something he could do to bring back the smiling girl that his late companion had spoken of with such pride. Over the pattering rain and clomping hooves, a thin humming could be heard. The sound reached Daimah’s ears, so familiar it was almost unreal. She starred in wonder at the young man riding ahead of her. ~How does he..?~ She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth and comfort of home, and, filled by that, she began to sing out those familiar words of her homeland. Their voices rose together, the Atlantean and the girl from Dehl, penetrating a gloom with a power far greater than they realized. Daimah held out the last syllable, clear and beautiful. Praetus looked back to see a bright smile on her face, the most radiant thing he had seen in days. They traveled on, and it seemed as though there was no rain at all. _____________________________________________________________________________